Turdhead

ActionScript Jabberwocky whiffles into USA Today

Posted in General, Milestones, Oddities, Tech by VeryVito on 9/27/2004

The ActionScript Jabberwocky has struck again: Apparently the once-rare “ActionScript geek/Jabberwocky fan” is now so common that even mainstream media outlets are sending traffic this way.

While perusing the log files of Turdhead.com tonight, I noticed an unusual amount of traffic (as in “any traffic”) coming from USA Today’s online edition. My natural thought was that we’d made a blip on an open forum somewhere, but holy crap… It turns out we made the newspaper’s “Hot Sites” section in its Thursday online edition!

Take a look! There’s Turdhead.com listed right up there with meaty sites from PBS.org and True-Americans.org. I was surprised enough last month when Slashdot found us worth mentioning, but I’m flat-out flabbergasted that the decidedly more general USA Today has taken notice of something previously confined to the world of the Flash geek.

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“You must not take hurrying shut this information!”

Posted in Sites we hate by VeryVito on 9/23/2004

WARNING: Although I HAD to show you www.partypokeronline.org, I heartily recommend NOT clicking anywhere on the page itself. If you do, the idiot spammers behind it will try to download an executable file on your Windows system, and given the demonstrated intelligence of the page’s creators and promoters, I wouldn’t count on it being legitimate.

That said… Want a good laugh?

By attempting to enter bogus comments that have NOTHING to do with the subjects at hand, these mooks have been spamming Turdhead.com for days now, hoping to lure its readers to their “Ultra Excellent” www.partypokeronline.org web site, which features… well, REALLY bad English — and what I can only assume to be financial ruin and possible viral infection.
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The most amazing game you’ll never play

Posted in Games, General by VeryVito on 9/9/2004

Canceled game

So what are we looking at here?

Well, it was supposed to be my best Flash game ever. In fact, it had it all: particle-based special effects; a riveting backstory; beat-the-clock, life-or-death action; and a lovable little rapscallion by the name of L’il Johnny. In short, it was supposed be the next Li’l Johnny Adventure.

So what happened? Well, to be blunt: It bores the crap outta me, and therefore, I ain’t letting anybody else play it, either!

Technically, the new game is pretty much done, and technically, it’s a marvel: endless multi-level play, impressive special effects, the works! But technically, it’ll also put you to sleep in five minutes flat. So rather than bang my head against the wall trying to force some fun into this beast — or worse yet, ask people to actually try playing it — I’m going to let it die peacefully in its sleep. I won’t subject you to “Li’l Johnny’s Rent-Controlled Apartment Adventure,”(See? Even the working title is boring!), and I’m turning my attention to a better, less ambitious project.

In fact, another game is coming right behind it (a simpler, better-than-burning-buildings game, at that!). And yes, everyone who donated to Deena’s MS 150 ride will get a role in the new game, too — and I’m sure they’ll like it even better! After all, who wants to star in a stinker?

Eventually, perhaps, I’ll find a use for some of the many neat things this game had in it. Perhaps not.

Meanwhile, on to smaller, better things.

Jabberwocky’s a hit — and for a good cause now

Posted in General by VeryVito on 9/3/2004

Who would have thought the Actionscript Jabberwocky and Binary Jabberwocky would have inspired such a frenzy. Thanks to everybody who’s shown their enthusiasm for this little piece of my nerd self.

Putting the poem (and/or program) on a T-shirt was actually an afterthought, but… wow. Just wow.

After getting this great response, I’ve decided to give the August and September profits from these sales directly to my girlfriend’s charity drive to support her efforts with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

You guys rock!